VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (letter).

Schools winner

Chicago — I was pleased to see Mike Conklin's "City school chief stays on the ball" (Sports, July 11) on schools chief Arne Duncan.

Do not underestimate the importance of Arne Duncan's basketball instincts when speculating on how successful he will be at leading our public school system.

Despite being the tallest starter on our high school basketball team and one of the slowest players, Arne was our point guard because he studied the game more than anybody else and played harder than anybody else. Arne had this innate ability to make everybody on the court with him play better than they could otherwise play and share his confidence.

Although he was by far the best player and our leading scorer, he was our most unselfish player. He made sure he got everybody involved in the game. Arne always knew where players, both teammates and opponents, were going to be seconds before they got there. He knew everybody's strengths and weaknesses. Arne was not a trash-talker, was the ultimate sportsman on the court and never yelled at his teammates. I never understood how he could defeat his opponents as he did while being so nice to them.

So why is this of any importance to the Chicago Public Schools? Because for almost 25 years I have watched Arne be an effective point guard off the basketball court, and I know that his leadership skills transfer to everything he does. We will be well-served by his ability to study the process effectively, work harder than all others, make others perform better, recognize strengths and weaknesses, be polite but demanding and, most important, win.

I have heard many naysayers criticize Mayor Richard Daley's appointment of Arne Duncan.

I applaud the mayor for putting the ball in Arne's hands. Let us give him a chance to work his magic. He's got game!